ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine how patients' coping style and social support affect post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in breast cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy. METHODS: The sample consisted of 134 outpatients who received breast cancer treatments at the cancer clinic of a university hospital. The collected data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, t-test, ANOVA, chi2-test, Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS for Windows, version 18.0. RESULTS: Among total, 26.9% of patients were classified into a high-risk PTSD group. In the high-risk group, a positive correlation was found between active and passive coping styles and between social support and active coping styles. CONCLUSION: In this study, the stronger the social support was, the more active the coping style was for high-risk PTSD patients with breast cancer. Considering the fact that cancer requires life-long self-management, strong social support could improve patients' healthcare capability. Furthermore, solid social support could effectively reduce the stress level and improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients in the high-risk PTSD group.